Steel wire clothespin



Dec. 15, 1936.

STEEL vWIRE CLOTHESPIN Filed July 25, 1935 2%@ @JWM wf A. MCFARLAN; 2,064,212

Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE STEEL WIRE oLoTnEsPlN William A. McFarlane, Honaker, Va. Application July z5, 1935, serial No. 33,084

1 claim. (ci. 24-139) This invention relates to improvements in clothes-pins constructed from single strands of resilient wire.

The main object of the invention is to provide a clothes-pin of this character whichis simple in construction, cheap to manufacture, and easily applied without danger of tearing or injuring fabrics.

Other vobjects of the invention will become apparent as the detailed description thereof proceeds.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a. perspective view of the clothespin forming the subject matter of this application;

Figure 2 is a side elevation; and

Figure 3 is a plan of the pin shown in Figures 1 and 2.

As shown in the drawing, the clothes-pin is formed from a single strand of wire l. This wire is bent upon itself to form a coil 2, and parts 3 and 4 extending parallel to each other from the coil. The part 3 is bent to form a substantially rectangular clamping frame 5, having the sides 6 and 'l displaced symmetrically on opposite sides of the part 3 and substantially parallel thereto; the end of the side 1 being bent around and tied, or otherwise suitably secured, to the part 3 at its end remote from the coil 2.

The part 4 is somewhat longer than the part 3, and has its end remote from coil 2 bent laterally outward to form an L-shaped arm having the side 8 thereof in sliding contact with the inner edge of the side 6 of clamping arm 5. 'Ihe length of the arm 8 is about equal to the outer diameter of the coil 2; and the wire at the lower end of arm B is bent laterally under and lengthwise under the clamping frame 5, the complementary clamping frame 9 having its sides l0 and Il parallel to each other and normally in yielding contact with the sides 6 and 1, respectively, of frame 5.

The end of the side Il is bent slightly inwardly of the side 1. and is then bent to form an inverted L-shaped arm having the side l2 thereof parallel to the side 8, the end of the last named arm being tied around, or otherwise suitably secured to the side 4 at itsend' remote from the coil 2. The distance between the outside edges of the sides 8 and Il is substantially equal to the distance between the inside edges 5 of the sides 6 and 1 of the clamping frame 5. This construction prevents'a'nyy buckling `of the parts of the clothes-pin during the movements 'of the clamping frames relative to each other.

In other words, the parallel members 8 and i 2 10 form guides slidable between the sides 6 and 'l of the frame 5, to maintain the frames 5 and 9 parallel throughout their movements relative to each other.

While the invention is described herein as a 1I clothes-pin, it is to be understood that it is not to be considered as limited to such use. The rectangular clamping frames may be of any desired width and adapt the device for use as paper clips or wherever comparatively wide 20 clamping members are necessary or desirable.

It is thought that the construction and advantages of the invention will now be clearly understood, without a more detailed description thereof. It is evident that changes in the details 25 of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to. without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed, or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as new is:

A clamping device comprising a strip oi' resilient metal bent to form a coil and a pair of arms spaced apart substantially jparallel to each 35 other on opposite sides of said coil, one of said arms being bent to form a substantially rectanguiar clamping frame substantially coplanar with said arm, the other arm being bent to form a second clamping frame adapted to move into 4 and out of clamping contact with the side of the first frame remote from said other arm and to form a pair of parallel sides constituting guides in sliding contact with the inner edges of the opposite sides of the first named frame. 45

W. A. MCFARLANE. 

